FILMMAKING 101 by Kaylee

[kaylee]

FILMMAKING 101 by Kayleee

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So all you have is just a dslr or camcorder. How do you get something good on it?

Find a subject you find interesting, rely on bright natural light, rely on close-ups for good built-in sound, and brighten up the scene (add more light), make sure the light is even, try to make a video as simple as possible, and lastly rely on the rule of thirds. Do not let criticism and judgement of video quality get to you as well.

Oh forgot, try to make sure you have good white balance.

And lastly make sure the video is focused well.

Another note is recognize that the camera is not the same as your eye. The camera could zoom in more than your eye and you have to adjust settings to get proper exposure.

Practice, practice, and practice.

I also forgot to mention that you should not throw away your pictures or videos in camera, because they may look good afterwards.

Be aware of the distance the camera has with the subject as well.

Also try to get even lighting, not too much highlight and not too much low light combined.

Be aware of the focus distance your lens can do.

[kye]

Kye's guide to film-making for beginners:

Step One: Go somewhere cool
Step Two: Point your camera at awesome stuff
Step Three: Go home and edit out the boring bits
Step Four: Now edit out the bits that aren't completely awesome
Step Five: there is no step five - you're done.  Just enjoy what you made and show it to your friends.

If you don't have something awesome happening in your film, basically at all times, then the settings won't save you!

I actually give this advice to people IRL.  Of course, it's basically useless.  The people who need to hear this won't listen, can't edit, don't have time, or refuse to learn.  The people who will listen have probably already worked this out  

[fuzzynormal]

6 hours ago, kye said:

The people who need to hear this won't listen

The old school photographer's mantra from Arthur Fellig: "f8 and be there."  It's not meant to be taken literally, but once you have enough wisdom to understand the context of what that phrase actually entails, you're gonna be fine.

[kye]

4 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

The old school photographer's mantra from Arthur Fellig: "f8 and be there."  It's not meant to be taken literally, but once you have enough wisdom to understand the context of what that phrase actually entails, you're gonna be fine.

I agree.  I'm curious to hear how you interpret that phrase.

One thing I read (that was talking about that phrase) was that at the time most lenses were sharpest at F8, and combined with the typical shooting situation (combinations of what people might shoot, which focal length they would choose to shoot it, and how far away they are likely to be) that F8 was also a practical compromise between having a deep DoF to not have focus issues but was also a combination of daylight and a large enough aperture to not have to have a really long shutter speed with ASA100, 200 (or maybe 400) film in the camera.

In that sense I thought the phrase was quite practical for people who wouldn't understand the various tradeoffs that are at play.  Obviously there are all kinds of nuances for the experienced photographer to explore but as soon as auto-exposure was widely available I thought the average person could turn on auto-SS, set to F8, and then they'd have pretty good results treating their SLR like a point-and-shoot camera but with MF?

[fuzzynormal]

2 minutes ago, kye said:

I agree.  I'm curious to hear how you interpret that phrase.

Basically, going to "f8" meant that you would be minimizing the technical variables --so you could concentrate on the stuff happening in the world.  The things that are actually more important to creating nice images.  Lighting, content, composition, etc.

[kye]

Just now, fuzzynormal said:

Basically, going to "f8" meant that you would be minimizing the technical variables --so you could concentrate on the stuff happening in the world.  The things that are actually more important to creating nice images.  Lighting, content, composition, etc.

Absolutely!  Couldn't agree more.. ???

[kaylee]

u guys realize i quoted that verbatim from zachs nonsense thread rite

[Jonesy Jones]

18 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

The old school photographer's mantra from Arthur Fellig: "f8 and be there."  It's not meant to be taken literally, but once you have enough wisdom to understand the context of what that phrase actually entails, you're gonna be fine.

This is why I am hoping to end up at a favorite fov (XXmm) lens sensor combo and shoot 98% of my films with that. Let everything else just get out of the way.

[kye]

4 hours ago, kaylee said:

u guys realize i quoted that verbatim from zachs nonsense thread rite

I know you're talking and saying stuff but now that you've changed your avatar all I can hear is "a spooooon full of sugaaaaaaaaar helps the medicine go doooown!"....???

[kaylee]

?

[kaylee]

On 8/23/2019 at 5:49 PM, fuzzynormal said:

Basically, going to "f8" meant that you would be minimizing the technical variables --so you could concentrate on the stuff happening in the world.  The things that are actually more important to creating nice images.  Lighting, content, composition, etc.

how does "f/8" minimize "technical variables"?

sounds like hot garbage to me

[thebrothersthre3]

2 hours ago, kaylee said:

how does "f/8" minimize "technical variables"?

sounds like hot garbage to me

Bit easier to stay in focus. 

[BenEricson]

1 hour ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Bit easier to stay in focus. 

Going from F8 to F2, makes the focal plane basically 4 times smaller. 

 

[heart0less]

5 hours ago, kaylee said:

how does "f/8" minimize "technical variables"?

sounds like hot garbage to me

At f/8 almost every lens shows a very similar contrast levels, sharpness, microcontrast, flare resistance, vignetting, etc. 

I think you wouldn't be able to distinguish 20$ Helios from 250$ Zeiss if both were set to f/8.

[kaylee]

k i kno that lol.

thank you guys, i was trynna tease this out

 

so: ""it"" doesnt 'minimize technical variables' in any meaningful way, rather: it removes variables essential to what we know as cinematography

i assume that we profoundly disagree, and i say this as someone who is producing a film *shot on smartphones right now* (on purpose), soooo

why have endless threads on this forum about the art of cinematography, the nuances of digital cameras, lenses, filtration, etc., if i should just shoot at f/8 to 'minimize variables'? sounds like something for docs not cinema *cough*

 

[leslie]

On 8/24/2019 at 5:53 AM, fuzzynormal said:

The old school photographer's mantra from Arthur Fellig: "f8 and be there."  It's not meant to be taken literally, but once you have enough wisdom to understand the context of what that phrase actually entails, you're gonna be fine.

if its a old photography rule then i'm not sure  how well it applies to cinematography. Someone that has gone through filmschool aught to be able to set everything straight i would think.

[kaylee]

On 8/23/2019 at 12:53 PM, fuzzynormal said:

The old school photographer's mantra from Arthur Fellig: "f8 and be there."  It's not meant to be taken literally, but once you have enough wisdom to understand the context of what that phrase actually entails, you're gonna be fine.

the problem is thats not u tho. thats your ~fantasy~ of yourself. what do you look like in this fantasy world? shawn michaels?

so, its a cool idea~! you should be a conceptual artist

frankly, ill reiterate: the lowkey condescending horseshit you spew on this board is based in an autistic fantasy world where you wouldnt run from me irl, like so many do.

Sad!

happens all the time. ppl i want to hire.

is it the water????

#facts

 

P.S. This is you. This is real https://www.instagram.com/path88productions/

On 8/23/2019 at 12:53 PM, fuzzynormal said:

once you have enough wisdom

you have zero 'wisdom' fyi

[Cinegain]

On 8/24/2019 at 12:04 PM, kaylee said:

u guys realize i quoted that verbatim from zachs nonsense thread rite

Hey, Zach's been putting in the work, c'mon now. He practices what he preaches. The guy got vision. Howtobasic ... the battle is on! ?

.

[fuzzynormal]

6 hours ago, kaylee said:

the problem is thats not u tho. thats your ~fantasy~ of yourself. what do you look like in this fantasy world? shawn michaels?

Gene Orkerlund.

Quote

frankly, ill reiterate: the lowkey condescending horseshit you spew on this board is based in an autistic fantasy world where you wouldnt run from me irl, like so many do.

Sad!

happens all the time. ppl i want to hire.

is it the water????

#facts

P.S. This is you. This is real https://www.instagram.com/path88productions/

you have zero 'wisdom' fyi

Huh.  Weird personal attacks.  Where's this coming from, anyway, and are you okay?  It's hard to recall you being overtly mean in the past here.

As for me and my biz'ness, we're proud of our productions.

www.path88productions.com

Is it high-end expert level?   No.  Don't think it was ever claimed to be here on EOSHD, but there's enough knowledge there to get by.  Shooting with hybrid cameras is enjoyable, and sharing my experiences/work/opinions is something else that's enjoyable.  

If you run in more prestigious industry circles and have the agency to not hire a person like me, that's perfectly fine.  We're doing what we're doing at the level we're at for a reason, and that's okay with us.

Sincerely,

Low Key Autistic Condesending Horseshitter Running Away In Real Life

13 hours ago, kaylee said:

sounds like hot garbage to me

Well, for me it's easy to appreciate WeeGee's work as photographer. In my mind, his saying is not garbage, and his advice is worth considering.  My take on it is simply "look at the environment more than the equipment."

[mkabi]

@mkabi guide to filmmaking...

Stage 1: Let your imagination go wild... everyone is different on how imaginative they can be, sometimes they may need a moment of inspiration and other times they just need to smokes some weed (you don’t have to if you don’t smoke it)

Stage 2: Write up a story, a rough draft, point-form even...

Stage 3: Find yourself a song or complete soundtrack for your film... trust me.

Stage 1 to 3 is interchangeable... sometimes it’s just one song or soundtrack that generates a story in your mind and you are able to get really creative.

Stage 4: Revisit your story, expand and revise it.

Stage 5: Scout locations and find locations that fit the schema that was running through your mind. Replay that song or soundtrack to see and/or remember what you want.

Stage 6: Revisit story and music again, expand and revise. Remove cliche garbage, if it’s been done before or said before... get rid of it.

Stage 7: Show your story to spouse, family and friends; get their feedback... ask them if there is anything cliche or they think that you should change. Understand that your feelings are going to be hurt here... take it as an opportunity to change and grow.

Stage 8: Revise and edit your story using the feedback that you got... 

Stage 9: Create a storyboard and create a shot list. At this time, you may want to plan a schedule, go full out project plan... Gantt charts, milestones, etc.

Stage 10: Go to those locations & start shooting, also bring a friend along - may be 2. Setup takes a while; you can reduce that setup time when you have a friend tagging along. Also, friends can have valuable input - a different POV. Sometimes, you have this image in your head and you storyboarded it, and when shooting time comes, your shooting it as you imagined it, and it still looks like shit. Your friend repositions the camera, on purpose or accidentally, and then that image looks amazing (this happened to me once - what had happened was my friend wasn’t there for the first day of shooting cause he had other obligations, and I shot everything, came back home to review them, some of them, I wasn’t even happy with... so I went back for a reshoot and this time my friend tagged along, I tried different angles, still wasn’t working... then my friend said “here let me try”... pulled back the camera, repositioned pressed record and I said “Wow... really? Half a day wasted cause I couldn’t pull back a little?”). Speaking of which, get as many angles and perspectives, get down on your elbows and get those unusual shots in...

Stage 11: Organize your video for editing and/or re-edits

Stage 12: Edit, add effects and colour grade.

Forgot to add the most important part, if your shooting for shits, like you don’t care... just cause you have a camera, or you are capturing memories of the family... none of the above really matters.